Rethinking Assessment Practices for Multilingual Learners: Bridging Theory and Classroom Evidence in Mathematics Education
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33423/jhetpv26i1.8140Keywords:
higher education, multilingual learners, mathematics assessment, equity in mathematics education, linguistic complexity, assessment validityAbstract
Mathematics assessments in higher education are often treated as neutral measures of student understanding, yet assessment design strongly shapes what multilingual learners (MLs) can demonstrate. Linguistic complexity, implicit curricular and cultural assumptions, and representational demands embedded in assessment tasks can obscure mathematical reasoning and compromise validity. This mixed empirical and conceptual study examines how common mathematics assessment practices function as barriers for MLs—not because of mathematical rigor, but because of avoidable design features.
Analysis of assessment tasks, practitioner observations, and professional learning artifacts identifies three recurring barriers: linguistic density and ambiguity, hidden curricular and cultural assumptions, and representational overload. Situated within scholarship on language, validity, and equity in mathematics education, the findings illustrate how construct-irrelevant variance is introduced through assessment design in postsecondary and teacher preparation contexts.
This article reframes assessment challenges for MLs as design issues rather than learner deficits and advances practical, design-oriented strategies to support more equitable and instructionally useful mathematics assessment.
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